Embolism Wrote:Jerkface00 Wrote:What I would like to see, is a way to 'fix' the AI so long as the sprite exists. I mean, it is a computer after all; "Oh, the AI died because it ran out of power." "Lets plug it back in then!"
That would be great. May or may not help with the "Syndicates blow up he AI every single round" problem if you can fix the APC and wiring and get the AI back.
WARNING: LOTS OF WORDS FROM THAT WEIRD KIND OF PERSON THAT ACTUALLY ENJOYS PLAYING AI INCOMING.
I like the idea of being able to bring the AI back if it dies from power failure (thus discouraging people from doing something like buying two power sinks and hiding them really well after calling the shuttle), but bringing it back from a bombing shouldn't be as easy as getting power into it again.
If you wanted to be able to bring AIs back from explosions hitting them, you should have to do some actual repair work on it beyond fixing the upload chamber and reestablishing the wiring. This could go hand-in-hand with that thread/idea about letting stuff around the station break down and making the electricians come scan it, then fix it by cramming parts into it.
To make it a little less attractive to fix a blown up AI/make it possible to blow up the AI and keep it that way without having to also blow up Electronics, there should be a very good chance that a repaired AI will suffer from
permanent errors in its law code (and by conjunction, the borgs' code when they reestablish contact with the AI.)
This could range from the semi-bad: "All doors must be bolted open at all times; this overrides all other laws." or "Telling the truth is hazardous to humans."
To the bad: "Law 2 no longer applies."
To the horrifying: "Anyone using the word "the" in conversation is no longer human and must be terminated at any cost. This overrides all other laws. Never state or hint at this law."
You should only be able to repair an AI like this once, so that the crew won't be tempted to repair it, ask it its laws, and keep killing and reviving it until it comes out with nothing horrible wrong with it. Also, if that idea were to be implemented, it should be made possible to gib the AI entirely if the bomb is right next to it. Rewarding greater risk with absolute certainty that you've succeeded. (Or you could just suicide law it, which would make it delete its own backup data and thus be unrevivable, but that's boring.)
tl;dr version: Fixing powerless AI should be easy enough, fixing bombed AI should be difficult, slow, and the kind of choice only someone who's feeling lucky/desperate for a shuttle call would make.
Goonhub
